Maebara Keiichi
Character Summary Maebara Keiichi is the main protagonist of the first 3 Higurashi Arcs, Onikakushi-hen, Watanagashi-hen, and Tatarigoroshi-hen. He is the son of a famous artist, Maebara Ichiro, and recently moved to Hinamizawa after an array of unfortunate and awful events in his hometown. As a charismatic, lively attitude, and his talented tongue allow him to quickly fit in the town and make new friends, and also win some club activities. In the first arcs, paranoia drives him to murder his friends and others, but in subsequent arcs, he gains inner strength and faith in his friends, enough to change the fate of Hinamizawa, as he somehow remembering the events of Onikakushi-hen ''in these arcs. When in need of a weapon, he wields Satoshi's old bat. Keiichi often ends up being the butt of the jokes in the club's activities, as the girls like to pick on him most of time, especially Mion and Satoko. He is often forced to wear embarrassing costumes when he loses as a punishment game (Most of the time, he is forced to wear pink maid outfits.). Keiichi is most likely between 14-16 years old. Keiichi and his family live in a large house on the land they bought from the Sonozaki family. As a result many of his friends believe they must be quite rich. In reality they're only about middle-class. The house was built large so that it would also house his father's art gallery and allow for clients to visit said gallery. Before Hinamizawa Later in the story, it is revealed by Rena that Keiichi committed crimes his hometown, particularly "shooting young girls with a toy gun." (Rena was given this info by Oishi) Before arriving in Hinamizawa, Keiichi was bullied by his classmates since they were jealous of his good grades. He worked hard to be the best when it came to grades, as it earned attention and praise from his parents and teachers. But the better he did, the harder it got and the less worthwhile it became for him. He became arrogant, and felt that he was better than his peers. He eventually collapsed from the stress of his situation and went on a shooting spree, shooting at kids with a BB gun. One day, he shot a girl in the eye, and for the first time he realized what he had been doing and how wrong it was. Keiichi felt, and still feels guilty for it, and even researched what happens if you shoot someone in the eye with a BB gun. Later he confessed to his parents, who were greatly upset (yet felt guilty for not being able to hear Keiichi's 'cry for help'). According to Rena, his parents paid the bail and eventually moved to Hinamizawa. Physical Appearance Keiichi has brown hair, and his eye color is blue and is described as charismatic to others. During school, he wears a white collared-shirt over a red shirt, black pants, a belt and black shoes. However, during his free days, he wears a black sleeveless shirt under a red vest, green shorts with a black belt and shoes. Relationships Ryuugu Rena Keiichi and Rena are very close friends. They face off against each other in many of the Club's Activities, most notably the Water Gun Face Off. They also battle on top of the school's roof in ''Tsumihoroboshi-hen. Keiichi also likes to "flirt", or make fun of her while they walk to school together. Shion Sonozaki considers Rena to be Mion Sonozaki's rival. In the last episode of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei, Rena confesses her feelings for him, though she was under influence of the magatamas. Aside from "flirting" with her, he actually cares very much for her, as he does with his other friends. He calls Rena a "very good friend" in Higurashi Rei episode 5, and was the one who snapped Rena out of her crazy mind and she eventually regained sanity in Tsumiboroshi-hen. Sonozaki Mion Keiichi and Mion's relationship is arguably the one most expanded on throughout the series. Keiichi and Mion's relationship is often hinted to be very strong. When Keiichi fails to give Mion a doll he won, saying she wouldn't like it anyway and gives it to Rena, Mion is later seen crying and being upset over this. In Tsumihoroboshi-hen when Keiichi hugs Mion, as an apology for killing her and Rena in Onikakushi-hen, which she and Rena don't remember, she is seen blushing. An example of Keiichi's feelings is during Watanagashi-hen when Keiichi is about to be tortured by who he believes to be Mion. Instead of resisting he states that If it will soothe the demon inside of Mion she may go ahead, only asking in return to save Mion and Shion(Keiichi begged "The Demon" to bring Mion back and he would've have done anything, if it meant Mion would come back). Later in Matsuribayashi-hen, Shion whispers in Keiichi's ear that although the person she loves is gone, Sis (Mion) still has hers. Their feelings for one another are most clearly shown in Miotsukushi-hen, Where the two of them engage in a large amount of flirtation at one point, and have quite a bit of unresolved tension, as well as affection for one another to the point where Keiichi literally dodges bullets in order to see her face again (Though his resolve was more-so spurned on by Hanyuu telling him to fight, this was the only reason of multiple she gave him that specified a person). *Hint, he always refers to Mion "The best friend I've ever had". *Hint, Rena may not be the only one he flirts with Hojo Satoko Keiichi and Satoko seem to be both friends and enemies, as Satoko is skilled in making elaborate traps, and she likes to use those skills against Keiichi. Despite this, Satoko does like Keiichi, so far as to call him 'nii-nii' (a cute term for older brother), as Keiichi resembles her older brother Satoshi in terms of physical appearance, behavior, and paranoia. Furude Rika For Furude Rika, the presence of Maebara Keiichi is one of the needed catalysts to help the group to survive and move beyond that fateful time of June, 1983. Keiichi is the one who gives Rika hope when it shows that retains some glimmer of what has occurred before. Aside from that they are good friends, although there are less opportunities for that to show through in most arcs where Rika is not the primary character. Trivia *In Onikakushi-hen, it is implied that Keiichi has a fear of needles. *Keiichi has the second most number of deaths throughout the series. The one with the most deaths is Rika. *Keiichi has been shown within many times to be a pervert, especially during club activities (the punishment game outfits) and Higurashi Rei episode 1, although Mion also shares part of this trait, but she thinks more of Keiichi in silly outfits. In the manga however, it is revealed that it is possible he only appears a pervert when he wants to tease his friends. In Watanagashi-hen, he even 'saves' Shion and the other waitresses from a large group of perverted men, clearly angered by their thoughts. *Whenever his friends are threatened, he feels very concerned and protective, but he's also not afraid to defend himself. Live Action Gōki Maeda plays as Maebara Keiichi in the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni live-action movie series . Category:Characters Category:Main Characters Category:The Club